The present invention relates to self-service kiosks and more specifically to a bar code processing method for a network kiosk.
Retailers have a desire to sell their products over networks, such as global networks which are a part of the World Wide Web (WWW or xe2x80x9cwebxe2x80x9d) and which use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP protocol). These retailers wish to provide Internet server web sites which offer the same features as Internet server web sites available to home shoppers who use their computers to connect to the Internet server web sites.
Kiosks provide a publicly-accessible computing platform for displaying web pages from retailer web sites. Kiosks may be located within a retailer""s transaction establishment or elsewhere, such as in shopping malls. Kiosks may be easily networked to retailer web sites using the TCP/IP protocol. Web pages from web sites may be displayed using known and available web software, such as Microsoft(copyright) Internet Explorer software.
Kiosks may receive input data from various sources. For example, kiosks may include bar code readers for facilitating customer price checks.
It would be desirable to provide a bar code processing method for a network kiosk.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a bar code processing method for a network kiosk is provided.
The method includes the steps of displaying a web page associated with an item, displaying a prompt associated with the web page to have an operator use a bar code reader to read a bar code on the item, and receiving information from the bar code reader which identifies the item.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a bar code processing method for a network kiosk.
It is another object of the present invention to automatically retrieve and display information about an item in a web page in response to reading a bar code on the item.
It is another object of the present invention to activate certain links to other information in the web page in response to reading a bar code on the item.